I'm skeptical about $4220 MSRP reduction without major standard equipment decontent going on.

The "specialist" often is the person in the bottom half of production that the store can afford to do without during the 1 to 3-day intro seminar. Why, yes I did attend the '88 Lincoln Continental into. 😛

What's old is new again lol.   Why wouldn't all salespeople be "specialists" in the products?

The same with my go-to (Hudson Ford) and many dealers in the TC area, but from the photos it appears to me that there is a shift from greys and blues to more tans & beige with increased wood in 2.0. The "Bronco Specialist" and "Mach-E specialist" seem to have quietly disappeared 

My Dealership already looks like what they are showing in the photos.   To follow up on your training experence-I have a former coworker that is an Officer in the Navy and is currently overseas in the mideast-he was posting on Facebook that he had to force his younger enlisted to actually use a phone for communication vs using other electronic means like email etc-

A true buying experience I want to see is to be able to order my vehicle directly from Ford, pay dealer invoice, and have it show up at my door, ready to go.  I don't need no stinking dealer!   I know, it won't happen, but I can dream, right?

True.  Businesses exist to make money.  Inspiration helps sell products, but without actual sales it’s hard to make money or stay in business.  “Inspirational” is a marketing slogan but sales numbers reflect effectiveness more directly.  Isn’t sales volume the quantitative measure of whether you inspired enough buyers enough to part with their money?   I know perfectly well that some of you use the word “inspirational” in a different context, almost like it’s a marketing religion, but I believe that approach is mostly gibberish.  IMO what matters is that you inspire people to buy your product at a profit, regardless of what drives the decision.  One person’s aesthetics can be someone else’s warm-and-fuzzy or another’s value.  I realize some here disagree with my opinion, but if Bolt sold well for whatever reason (most likely being affordable) then it inspired those buyers enough to buy.  In my world being inspired by value is no less inspirational. 😀

2017 for Ford Signature 1.0. The article says that they hope to have 110 stores upgraded to FS 2.0 by the end of 2026. I Googled it, and there are almost 10,000 stores in 125 countries worldwide, including 3,100 in the US. This may take awhile.   As far as the Guest Experience Training goes, that might prove to be a challenge, especially with the pre-millennial generation who will be entering the sales force in a few years. It has been my experience that in many franchise restaurants service and communication are devolving. Younger waitstaff don't check back, forget to bring items that are asked for-spoon to stir coffee, refills etc. Maybe it is that generation's penchant for texting that they are losing the ability to speak directly to customers. You have probably been to a restaurant and noticed a group of Teen-somethings, all texting other people and ignoring each other- tragically funny.